In 1962, the KentuckyBoard of Education had ten construction permits to create an educational television network via a flagship station in Lexington, plus several satellite stations throughout the state. WKGB, along with nine other charter stations of the Kentucky Educational Television network, began broadcasting on September 23, 1968. Before this, the only educational television station serving Bowling Green, Kentucky, was WDCN-TV in Nashville, Tennessee..= WKGB was the Bowling Green area's first non-commercial station and first UHF station, and the second television station in the area. Despite the existence of KET, competitor WNPT remained on community-access and cable television systems in the Bowling Green area until around 2002. As of 2017, WNPT is still available to cable subscribers of Glasgow-based South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative, and the Glasgow Electric Plant Board. WNPT's over-the-air signal can still be picked up at least in southern areas of Warren County and several Kentucky counties along the Tennessee state line.
Digital television
The station's digital television companion signal, WKGB-DT, began broadcasting in May 2002, as with other KET stations. WKGB was the second television station in the market to start broadcasting in digital after WBKO's digital signal began broadcasting in 2000.
Analog-to-digital conversion
On April 16, 2009, the full-power KET stations shut down their analog signals as part of the mandatory analog-to-digital television transition of 2009. WKGB-TV stopped broadcasting over UHF channel 53 and retained its digital signal on its pre-transition UHF channel 48. Digital television receivers display the station's virtual channel as its former UHF analog channel 53, which was among the high-band UHF frequencies that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.
In summer 2017, due to the network's participation in the FCC's 2016–17 Spectrum auction, WKGB filed for a construction permit for its digital subchannel to relocate to UHF channel 29. The transition period for this move took place between September 7 and October 18, 2019, and also lowered the station's effective radiated power from 54.8 kW to 32.4 kW. The move was completed on October 18, 2019. Its current allocation on UHF channel 48 is among the upper-mid UHF band frequencies to be reverted for use of wireless service.
Availability
Over-the-air signal
WKGB-TV's signal penetrates much of the Bowling Green market, with the exception of Metcalfe County, where the signal falls short. WKGB reaches some north-central portions of the Nashville market, including counties along the state line such as Todd, Logan, Simpson, and Allen counties, in areas from Allensville to Holland. In northern Middle Tennessee, WKGB's signal reaches into the northern half of both Robertson and Sumner counties, along with rural sections of northwestern Macon County. Out-of-market coverage of WKGB also includes nearby sections of the Louisville and Evansville media markets. WKGB-TV's over-the-air coverage overlaps that of some other KET stations, including WKMA-TVMadisonville, WKOH Owensboro, and WKZT-TVElizabethtown, Kentucky. Much of Muhlenberg and Todd Counties is served by both WKMA and WKGB. Hart County is served entirely by WKZT, but the WKGB signal does make it to at least the Munfordville area. Much of Grayson County is also well-served by both signals. All of the network's satellites were strategically located to maximize signal coverage in the state of Kentucky to the fullest extent possible. Signal coverage is subject to change due to the 2016 FCC Spectrum auction.
Cable and satellite availability
All cable systems in Kentucky carry at least the flagship KET service. The network's statewide coverage in southern Kentucky includes Charter Spectrum systems in Bowling Green, Mediacom cable systems in much of the remainder of the market, Suddenlink systems in Logan County, the Russellville Electric Plant Board, as well as the Glasgow Electric Plant Board and the South Central Rural Telephone Cooperative. Comcast Xfinity systems in Franklin and Horse Cave also carries at least the main channel. In addition to cable coverage in Kentucky, WKGB's feed of KET is carried on cable in Macon, northeastern Sumner, and far-western Clay counties in Tennessee, including Lafayette. This is due in part to the fact that the Lafayette area's cable system, the North Central Telephone Cooperative, also serves Allen County on the Kentucky side of the state line with the same system. As part of the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010, since June 3, 2010, WKGB's main channel is also carried on satellite television on Dish Network channel 53. Both WKGB and WKYU are uplinked on Dish Network's Bowling Green feed. DirecTV currently does not provide any local Bowling Green stations. KET is not available on satellite in Logan, Simpson, Allen, or Monroe Counties, which are considered to be part of the Nashville market, where WNPT, along with Cookeville, Tennessee's WCTE, is uplinked on satellite television.
